Can AI design circuit boards yet?(eebench.org)
418 points by iopapa 5 days ago | 235 comments
tl;dr: EEBench evaluates AI models on circuit design using atopile's declarative code format, running deterministic SPICE simulations against real component tolerances, cost, and specs rather than idealized values. On the current leaderboard, Claude Opus 5 leads at 61.6%, followed by Grok 4.6 at 57.1%, while OpenAI's GPT-5.5 trails at 42.3%; xAI notably included EEBench in Grok 4.6's model card. The benchmark covers analog/digital design through simulation but not yet layout, manufacturing, or bring-up.
HN Discussion:
  • Personal success stories using AI (Claude/Fable) to design working PCBs with minor fixable errors
  • Skeptical due to observed failures like melted USB-C ports and unrouted connections from over-reliance on AI
  • ~AI auto-layout tools tested all failed at basic tasks, though LLMs excel at related embedded code
  • Article overstates the sophistication of AI conclusions that are actually basic hobbyist knowledge
  • Practical suggestions for augmenting workflows, like using LLMs to review netlists/BOMs or adding real-world feedback loops